In Need
by Kansas42
Summary: One of the survivors goes missing at night. Jack leads a group to find her in the jungle. Also in the jungle, UHC (unknown homicidal creature). Plus, other multiple character angst.
1. Before

Quick notes: spoilers up to the moth. Nothing past because I haven't seen it yet, but I did sort of steal the whole sawyer-kate kiss from the previews, only probably with different results. I tried to get most of the main characters to have some sort of screen time but ultimately, I'm a Charlie/Jack geek, so that's sort of where my attention goes. Oh, and my computer hates me so don't kill me if the formatting kinda sucks.

Okay, quick notes over.

I.

It had been a week since the cave-in, and Kate still hadn't left Jack's side for more than thirty minutes. She would leave to go to the beach and then come back, frustrated, and try to talk Jack into coming with her. Jack would look at her, start talking about how much the caves had to offer, and then start trying to convince her to stay with him. The conversation wasn't getting very far.

"Kate, we have to be realistic. No plane is just going to swoop by overhead and see us all sitting on a beach, waving our arms around. If we want to survive, we're going to have to stop living in a dream world." Jack sighed, and stepped closer to her. "Kate, you know this is a good idea."

"I know it," Kate said. "I said it. The caves make sense."

"Then why won't you stay here?" Jack's voice was exasperated and Kate stepped outside of his reach, giving him a cool look.

"I'm not ready to accept that the rest of my life is going to be wasted away on this island. Why are you?"

Jack opened his mouth, tried to answer, and then turned away. "These caves are a good place," he said, ignoring her question.

"Oh, for Godssake," Kate said, just as exasperated, and stomped off.

Nearby, Charlie watched in some amusement. "Hey, Charlie!" a voice called to him and he turned around. Claire was making her way slowly towards him, smiling as she almost always did. "Hey. Whatcha doing?"

"Oh, watching our favorite pair of star-crossed lovers. They're a regular Romeo and Juliet, yeah?"

Claire laughed. "Yeah," she said, watching Kate walk out of sight. "She's a Gemini. I haven't had time to ask Jack yet but I'll bet the house that he's a Virgo. They might have some difficulties before they actually both acknowledge the fact that they're hot for each other."

"You know about astrology?" Charlie asked, interested. "Right on. What am I?"

"What's your birthday?"

"March 9th."

"You're a Pisces," Claire said promptly. "You're imaginative, sensitive, and kind. You probably rely on your intuition a lot, and you're very compassionate. You're a musician, right? That totally makes sense for a Pisces."

"Excellent!" Charlie said. "Doesn't make me sound like too bad of a guy. Don't Pisces have any bad traits?"

"Well, some," Claire admitted. "The tend to be escapists. And they can be secretive." She smiled lightly. "Do you have any deep secrets you're hiding from me, Charlie?

Charlie thought of his stash, burning as he and Locke looked on the night before. The withdrawals had gone down a bit but his fingers still trembled and he pushed them out of sight. "Everybody's got secrets, Claire," he said quietly and the two fell silent.

II.

Sawyer leaned back against a tree and looked appraisingly at Kate's backside as she stormed past him back on the beach. "You know, maybe you and Doctor Spectacular can find yourself a nice, cozy spot in the middle of the beach and the caves," he called out to her, smiling slowly. "You can compromise so you don't get that ole hot and bothered look you've got on right now."

Kate stopped in her tracks and turned around, glaring at him. "What exactly is it you want now?"

"Well, tell the truth, Freckles, I wouldn't mind finding that nice, cozy spot with you myself."

Kate marched back up to him and kneeled down in front of Saywer, staring at him. "Why don't you just go crawl into a corner somewhere and die, Sawyer? You're no use to anyone on this island anyway."

Sawyer's smile flickered for an instant. "Well, don't go saying things like that, darlin'," he drawled, "I'll think you don't like me."

Kate moved in closer to his face. "Stay away from me, Sawyer. Or you'll find just how much I don't like you." She got up abruptly and turned around.

"Don't be a stranger," Sawyer said as she walked away. "Sooner or later, you'll find out that I've got something you want!"

"Why don't you just leave her alone?" The voice came from behind him in the trees and Sawyer looked to see Boone standing there, staring at him in a puzzled manner. "Can't you see you're just making things worse for yourself?"

"Ah," Sawyer said, losing interest. "It's the wannabe hero himself. It must just burn you up that no one looks at you the way they look at the doctor."

"I'm not the one obsessed over Kate," Boone said, "and I don't think I'm the one aching to be Jack."

"I don't want to be no hero," Sawyer protested as Boone started to leave him to find Shannon.

"You say so," Boone said over his shoulder. "But that doesn't make you any less jealous."

III.

Michael sat on the beach cross-legged, staring worriedly out towards the waters. Nearby the waves, Walt was playing a game with Locke, who seemed to be content to take a moment away from being grand hunter of the land. Locke had obviously proven himself worthwhile on the island, finding Walt's dog, killing the boar, but Michael still didn't quite trust the old man. Something was weird in that man's head, and he sure wasn't happy about Walt bonding with him. Still, he didn't feel like confronting his son about it just yet. He wasn't in the mood for yet another argument.

Michael heard steps on the sand behind him. "Do you mind if I sit down?" The words were small, hushed, as if afraid of being overheard. Michael shrugged. "Go ahead."

Sun sat down beside Michael and stared out at the ocean, not saying anything for awhile. Ever since the incident with Sun's husband, the two had been creeping around each other, looking, meeting each other's gaze, but afraid to talk, as if there was some greater crime in it. "Your boy is very good," Sun said. "He's well brought up. Polite."

"None of my handiwork," Michael said, but for the first time since he had taken custody over the boy, Michael began to feel the stirrings of pride anyway. "His mother took care of him."

"About my husband---"

"No, no, no," Michael said, immediately shaking his head. "No, I don't even want to go into that."

"I just wanted to say thank you," Sun said regardless, ignoring Michael's protests. "For giving back the watch. I don't think there should be any more problems."

"You don't think," Michael snorted, and looked away. By the water, Walt was laughing at something that old hunter Locke had said, and Michael wondered what the two talked about, what could they be saying. Michael's eyes returned to Sun as she looked at him, waiting. She often had the look of obedience, someone in training, ever so willing to oblige and play pet, but every now and then there was something in her face that screamed independence, a willingness and a desire to be herself. He could see that look in her eyes now.

"Look. . .Sun. . .I'm just. . .that does not seem that type of guy you want to stick around with, you know what I'm saying? I mean, your husband seems to be just a little unbalanced in the head, a few marbles short of, well, whatever. I mean, why do you stay with him, anyway?"

Sun looked at him directly for a minute, her mouth open as if to answer his question, but then looked away, unable. She looked down at the beach and drew Michael's attention back to his son.

"Everybody needs something," Sun said quietly, and Michael looked back to her. Her eyes were no longer fixed on Walt, but on a flower in her hand. "Everybody needs something."


	2. Missing

I.

"Why are you here?" Jack asked.

His father didn't turn around. He continued to sit facing the fire, never stirring. "Something's going to happen. You can feel it. You know."

Jack stepped forward and then stopped. He didn't know if he wanted to see his father's face. "What's going to happen?" His father was silent. "Dad? What's going to happen? WHAT?"

His father laughed, a slow, drunken sound. "This isn't a bad, little home you've made here, Jack. Nice and cozy. Not bad at all. You've got your shelter, your supplies, your girlfriend. People to make a family around you. You think you can take your care of them." He laughed again and Jack took a step backward this time, even as his father turned around. His face was decaying, gray, and pieces of his skin seemed to be melting from the heat of the fire to the cold, jungle ground. "It's going to happen soon, Jacky boy. And you don't have what it takes."

"Dude. Dude!"

Jack woke up with a snap, and blinked several times. He hadn't been sleeping well since the crash, and this was the first rest he had gotten in sometime. His eyelids felt like they had pounds attached.

"Dude," the voice said again, and Jack focused his attention on Hurley, who was standing above him, breathing heavily from running. "It's that blonde girl, that guy's sister, Shannon, or whatever. She's missing."

Jack got up. Near the fire, a bunch of people were standing, arguing. For a brief second, Jack thought he saw his father sitting, staring at the flames, but with a quick blink of his eyes, the mirage was gone, and there was only Charlie sitting, watching and waiting.

The group included Boone, Locke, Sayid, Kate, Charlie, Michael, and Claire. The Korean couple were also standing nearby, murmuring to each other, but weren't otherwise contributing to the discussion. A few other survivors of the crash were watching but Jack was somewhat dismayed to realize he didn't known their names and almost somehow considered them less here than the others, just extra people. That didn't seem fair since they had after all survived the crash together and it had been Jack who had made the speech about togetherness, but this was hardly the time for more formalized introductions.

"It's too dark out now," Sayid was saying, and Jack glanced up at the cloudless sky, wondering what time it was in California, and if the sky was as deep and dark as it was on this island. "We'll have no chance of finding her now, and it could be perilous to try. We still have no idea what is out there on this island with us. We must wait until morning."

"You can wait for as long as you want," Boone shouted back, "but Shannon is my sister and I'm going after her now!"

This led to more yelling on everybody's part. Jack walked up to them. "Hey! Hey!"

Everybody was quiet. Jack had a moment to reflect on the idea that at home nobody would have ever shut up for him, and then the moment passed. "Okay, what exactly happened?"

"Shannon's gone," Boone said. "We came up here earlier to get some fresh water and I went to help Locke with the hunting. I. . .I wanted to be doing something useful. Anyway, we got back late, and when I looked around, she was gone. I went back to the beach and she wasn't there. No one's seen her and Shannon's not exactly hard to miss."

"I'll say," Charlie said, and everybody looked at him. He shrugged. "Sorry."

"She must have gone into the jungle," Boone continued after a moment. "I don't know why she would but she must have because she's gone. And if you think I'm going to wait until she gets eaten by whatever the hell is out there in the woods, then you're fucking crazy!"

Everybody started to yell again. "Okay, okay," Jack said, and everyone quieted down. "Look, nobody is obligated to come along. This could be very dangerous; we all know that. But it's not right to leave this girl alone in the jungle. She could be hurt or unable to leave, and we haven't been on this island long enough yet to become so savage as to leave her to her death. Now, I said it before, and I'll say it again: we can not stand alone out here. We need to stand together."

Everyone remained quiet. Sayid looked angry but Jack didn't care: they hadn't agreed on much since the plane crashed, anyway. "I say we try to find Shannon now. We don't spend all night out there. We go out, we try, and if we have no luck, we come back and wait until morning, and form a larger party to search. I'm going to go along with Boone. Now, who else wants to go?"

Nobody was surprised when Kate stepped up. "I'll go," she said, and Sayid's look of anger intensified. However, he didn't protest, only said, "If you are all foolish enough to do this, then you might as well do it right. I will join you."

Jack nodded with a smile. "All right."

The Korean woman looked as though as she was about to step forward when a heavy hand came down on her shoulder. Her husband glared at the group. He spoke harsh, biting words that, while not in English, clearly denoted an unwillingness to come along.

"That's fine," Jack said. "Anybody else?"

Michael, Locke, Charlie, and one of the extras all ended up volunteering. Neither Michael nor the other guy bothered to give any kind of explanation. Locke said, "We all know how dangerous it is out there. Someone with some kind of hunting knowledge should go along."

Charlie looked at him, shrugged, and then looked at the rest of the group. "I don't have any kind of hunting knowledge," he said, "and I sure as bloody hell didn't take classes in finding lost girls in jungle woods, but I've got another set of eyes, and that's something, yeah?"

Jack found himself smiling again. He remembered how self-conscious Charlie had looked when they were trapped together, when he said that he was useless. He couldn't help feeling sort of protective towards the British rocker, like a younger brother, maybe, though he didn't actually have one. "Yeah," Jack said, and that was all it took for Charlie's eyes to light up in happiness. He looked like a puppy that was so surprised he wasn't getting kicked again.

"We're going to need torches," Sayid was saying, bringing back Jack's focus. "And some weapons would probably come in handy."

"Well, I have a good collection of knives, but a knife isn't much use if you don't know how to handle it," Locke said gravely. "I suppose we could fashion up so clubs or something in that regard."

"I know who has what we need," Kate said suddenly, and the disgust in her voice made Jack sigh, realizing who she was talking about.

II.

"Well, isn't this interesting," Sawyer said, opening his eyes to see eight people glaring at him, Kate standing out at the forefront. "I told you, Freckles, you'd find that I've got something you want." He winked at her suggestively, and both Boone and Locke had to hold Jack back from attacking Sawyer.

Kate's glare was ice. "You're a jackass, Sawyer. Why don't you just give us the supplies?"

"Well, darlin', because I don't give nothin' without getting back something in return. Now, I might have something that I can do you for, but I'm waiting to see what's in it for me."

Kate's voice was utterly flat. "What do you want?"

Sawyer scratched his chin. "Well, I just don't know. A little respect wouldn't be a bad start. People talking to me like I'm the Devil's plaything doesn't sit too well with me, you know. But I can't actually expect you to guarantee that, that genuine niceness would just go against your nature. I could go for a kiss, I suppose."

"You expect me to treat you with respect when you loot around in their things, hoard prized possessions, and blackmail women into kissing you?" Jack's voice was aghast. "Forget it, Sawyer. We don't need you."

"Yes, we do," Kate said.

"Kate."

"We need him, Jack," Kate said, and then quite quickly kissed Sawyer. The kiss wasn't long and heated but it was also not a chaste, kiss on your father's cheek. Kate pulled back and Sawyer licked his lips, his eyes still closed.

"Well," Sawyer drawled, "that was. . .beyond all my wildest dreams."

"So's this," Kate said, and Sawyer opened his eyes in time to see Kate's fist to his head. Sawyer was knocked out instantly.

Kate stood up and looked at the group, who was staring at her. "His stash of supplies is right over there," Kate said matter-of-factly. "Let's go through it and get going."

And they did but as Jack tried to catch her gaze, Kate wouldn't meet his eyes.


	3. Scream

I.

In the jungle, the group of survivors broke off into two factions. Jack, Kate, Boone, and Locke went towards the eastern part of the jungle, and Michael, Charlie, Sayid, and that other guy went west. In the first group, Jack and Kate led, studiously not talking to each other. Locke and Boone took up rear.

Boone had been silent since they had left the camp. Locke watched him. "Don't be afraid," he said quietly.

Boone looked up. "I'm not," he said, "at least, not about me."

"Your sister."

"Yeah." Boone shook his head. "She drives me nuts, Shannon does. She's spoiled, she's bratty, she doesn't have a whiff of common sense in her head. Our parents gave her everything she ever wanted and she's never had to say sorry for any of it. She was their golden child." The bitterness and regret in his voice was evident.

"They didn't care about you?"

"They didn't care as much," Boone said. "We're twins, Shannon and I, and when my mom was in labor, Shannon almost died. She was very weak, and my parents felt. . .blessed that she was alive. They felt that she was a miracle, and that she needed certain, special attention that I didn't need. I was always a healthy kid, always pretty stout." Boone looked at Locke and a look of guilt passed over his face. "They did love me," Boone said quickly, not wanting to sound ungrateful. "It's just that when I got a hundred dollar mountain bike for my birthday, she got a thousand dollar diamond ring, and when I dropped out of college and got kicked out of the house, she was coddled as being a "spirited, lively kid" when she failed in her exchange program in France. The program that my parents paid for, of course." Boone shook his head again and then shrugged almost helplessly. "But I love her. I hated her sometimes as a kid but. . .I love her. I can't lose her now, now that we're stuck on some island and we're probably never going to be found. She's all I've got now. I don't want to lose her."

Locke clapped Boone on the back. "You're not going to lose her, son. That's what we're doing out here. Look, I know everyone talks about this island like it's evil, or at least thinks it. But I've seen miraculous things out here, some things that you wouldn't believe. This place changes you, heals you, somehow. Your sister's going to be just fine."

"Yeah?" Boone's voice was dry, sarcastic. "Like that pilot was just fine?"

Locke looked away. "Anything beautiful is going to have a spot of ugliness hidden within it. Light doesn't exist without shadow. The magic of this place is wonderous. But a debt must be repaid for such splendor."

"And how do I know that debt won't be paid with my sister's life?"

Locke looked at Boone solemnly. "Faith," he said.

And then they heard a scream.

II.

Charlie was nervous. And when Charlie was nervous, Charlie liked to talk.

Or get high. But as that ship had already sailed, conversation was his outlet.

"So. . .you guys know the band Drive Shaft?"

"God, can't you shut up about your stupid, two-bit little band?" the guy who's name Charlie wasn't entirely sure of asked. Charlie glared at him and decided his new name would be Bloody Git.

"Hey," Michael said. "Let's not be getting into any fights. We've got enough problems."

"That is certainly true," Sayid agreed. He took a moment before saying gently, "You do seem to talk about your band, ah, Drive Shaft, an awful lot though."

Charlie thought about saying how much Drive Shaft had changed him, what the music meant to him, what Liam had meant to him, and what the band and the drugs had done to change him, and immediately gave the thought up. Locke and Jack already knew about Charlie's addiction and that was two people too many. Sayid and Michael would never understand. . .the Bloody Git wouldn't either, but Charlie didn't really care what the bloody hell he thought. Instead, Charlie admitted, "I'm nervous. I saw what that pilot looked like after that. . .thing was done with him. I don't want to die like that."

He didn't add that he didn't want to die at all. Some things were better left off unsaid, mostly because they were obvious.

"That's understandable," Sayid said. "In the war, the fear of death loomed everywhere. The men would often talk about things that were not at all relevant to the current situation so that they could distract themselves from it. There's no shame in it. Still. . .there must be something in your life beyond Drive Shaft. Talk about your family. Whom did you leave behind?"

Charlie's first thought was of to Liam again, stalking off in anger and, most likely, jealousy. Jealous that his brother, who had dragged him into the drug scene he found himself entangled in, had somehow gotten out. Jealous that his brother had a family now, a wife, and a little girl, to love, while Charlie had no one else but his brother he was somewhat enstranged from, and his mother, who would get the same weepy look in her eye every time she had seen him since Drive Shaft began. There was no love of his life left behind, and no one to really miss him when he was gone.

He had no intention of talking about this either, though, and opened his mouth to say he talk about Liam when there was a sudden, uneasy rustle behind them. What he had intended to say was, "I have this great, protective older brother named Liam living in Australia." What came out was, "What the bloody hell was that?"

"Shhhh," Sayid said. Everybody froze but Charlie, who kept turning in circles, trying to see where the thing was coming from. There was a low, growling sound, and then suddenly a flash of motion as something from the wood pounced.

And then there was screaming.

An eternity of screaming.

III.

"Dude, what are YOU doing here?"

Sawyer froze for a second and then smiled with nonchalance at Hurley, who was sitting near the waterfall. "Came to see what the big hubbub is all about. The safety and the shelter of the caves, so saith Saint Jack." He glanced around. "It's a nice place."

Hurley raised his eyebrows. "What happened to you, anyway? Someone hit you with a rock?"

Sawyer smiled again, this time a trifle bitterly. He wasn't sure how long he'd been unconscious, but when he woke up, all his supplies had been rifled through, many of the items he had procured through scavenging had been gone, and his nose definitely felt a little twisted to the right. His shirt was stained with blood and his face hurt like hell.

"Something like that," Sawyer said. "Hey, is the good Doc and his merry men back yet from their little skip in the woods? I have a few words to say to them."

Hurley shrugged. "Not yet. They've been gone awhile now. And a little while ago, we thought we heard screaming. But nothing since then."

"Well, maybe I'll stick around till then, see when, and if, they come back. This isn't a bad little spot to stick out the rest of the night."

"Whatever, dude." Hurley put on his headphones. Sawyer gave him a contemptuous snort and walked around a bit. A few scattered people were sleeping, or trying to. That Japanese couple or whatever was isolated from the rest, the husband asleep, the woman still in his arms, eyes wide open. There wasn't much going on that was exciting.

Sawyer sat down near a tree and was starting to nod off just a bit when an anguished scream broke through the camp. Sawyer was quick to his feet, looking around. "Was that the noise you heard before?" he asked Hurley, who was also standing and staring.

Just as Hurley shook his head to deny it, a figure came crawling out of the bushes nearby the camp, wailing. It was that pregnant chick. "Claire!" Hurley yelled.

Claire was trying to breathe between screaming. Her hands clutched convulsively towards her stomach. She tried to push herself up to walk towards them but only collapsed on the ground, crying out in pain, her legs seeming to pull naturally apart from each other. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was about to have little Claire Jr.

If the doc was around, of course.

Sawyer knew this was gonna be a long night.


	4. Death

I.

Michael stopped running for long enough to have a quick breath and then quickly began to run again. He was exhausted and drained. His calves were cramping up like fucking crazy and he couldn't seem to get any air in his lungs. Still, he kept running and running.

He felt a hand pull hard on his shoulder and he almost screamed, but didn't. The knowledge that the touch was made by a very obviously human, non-clawed and scaly hand, came late into his mind. His thoughts seemed to still be playing catch-up with his body, running far, far away from whatever that thing had been. Michael never saw the creature, just flashes and impressions of great speed and gigantic size, and then the body. Michael saw the body. It fell on him and he stared into what was left of one eye looking back at him. Then Michael had scrambled out from under the torn limbs and massive blood spill and ran as far as he could get. Until now.

Michael turned. Sayid was standing there. Close behind him was Charlie, hands on his knees, breathing deeply. "I think it is safe now," Sayid said between breaths. "That. . ..thing seems to have disappeared."

"As long as it stays disappeared," Charlie muttered to himself, and Michael probably would have smiled if he couldn't still feel the weight of that bloody carcass pressed against his body.

"Did anyone see it?" Sayid demanded. "Did anyone see the creature?"

Michael shook his head. "No," Charlie said. "All I saw was that bloody gi---I mean, ah, um. . .Steve's body afterwards."

"I think that one was Scott," Michael said. "Maybe." It had never seemed really important before. Now that the man was nearly decimated miles them, it seemed to be a very significant fact.

Sayid didn't seem to agree. "It doesn't matter," he said impatiently, and then had a better look at Michael, who was covered in blood. "Were you hurt?"

"It's Sc---that guy's blood," Michael said. "So, what do we do now?"

"

I don't know," Sayid said. "This was a foolish idea."

"Hey, man, no one forced you to come along."

"I know that," Sayid said, his frustration looking great. "I admire the sentiment but now one of us is dead for a girl that might already be gone."

"Or she might not," Charlie said. "There's no way of knowing and we couldn't just leave her out here."

"We could have," Sayid said solemnly. "We could have."

The three were silent for a minute. Then Charlie, as of course it would have been Charlie, broke the silence by saying, "So, again, WHAT are we going to do now?"

Michael stayed silent. Sayid shook his head. The three became silent again.

II.

The second Hurley got a glance at Claire in full labor, he passed out.

Sawyer ignored him. "Does anybody, anybody on this stupid, wretched, pathetic piece of island have any medical experience besides Jack?" he yelled out at the people who huddled nearby to watch. Nobody moved forward.

"Fuckin' figures," Sawyer muttered and then looked at Claire, who's eyes were wide. She looked terrified. "Well, that's okay, darlin', don't you worry. Women have been having babies without fancy doctors and hospitals for a whole lot of years now, and they've been just fine. You hear that? You're going to be just fine."

Claire shook her head frantically, her eyes too wide for her face. "The baby---I'm only seven months---"her voice cut off as her face scrunched up and she howled in pain. She tried to look at Sawyer, to make him understand. "I'm not. . .not ready. . ."

Sawyer tried not to let the look of panic show on his face. "Don't you fret," he said as he secretly fretted and worried and tried not to have a panic attack. "Okay, you're just going to have to not be shy today. I'm going to be Doctor Sawyer, and you're gonna push that baby out, and I'm gonna catch it. Okay? Everything's gonna be just fine, Claire. I'm gonna help you through it."

He kept the ending of his thought, 'god knows how', silent. Jack was supposed to be this great leader, the savior of all their miserable little souls, but when the pregnant chick was giving birth, where was he? Running around in a jungle, probably getting his stupid, self-righteous ass eaten, and sticking Sawyer with this. Sawyer wasn't prepared for something like this. He never went to no fancy doctor school. He specifically chose a career that didn't involve altruistic measures like delivering premie babies on deserted islands where polar bears randomly popped up. But he couldn't just leave her here, alone. SOMEBODY had to be a man and help her.

Claire started to scream again and Sawyer focused back on her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Jap woman stand up from her place near the caves. Her husband's arm was on hers in an instant. She shook it off impatiently and an over to where Sawyer was kneeling in front of Claire. In her hand was a wet piece of cloth.

She said something in another language to Claire but her voice was soothing, calm. The woman put the cloth down on Claire's forehead and with one hand smoothed Claire's hair back, while the other took the pregnant girl's hand and let it be squeezed. Her eyes met Sawyer's. She was afraid but determined to help.

Sawyer felt himself nodding. "Okay, Claire," he said, "I need you to breathe, okay? Just keep breathing for me, deep, deep breaths." What else had he seen on TV with pregnant women giving birth? Breaths were important, deep breathing, and---

"Now you've got to push, Claire. Keep breathing and push."

III.

"Now where was THAT screaming coming from?"

"The first screams seemed to be from the western direction, where the other group went," Locke said. "The second set of screams were further back. I can't be positive, but they sounded like they were coming from the caves."

"We have to get back there," Kate said immediately. "We have to see what's going on."

"We can't leave my sister!" Boone immediately responded.

"He's right," Locke said. "To leave now would accomplish nothing. We would have left our fellow comrades in vain. If something has happened back at camp, we should have at least left them for a reason. We'll find the girl. Then the others, if there's anything of them left to be found. And then we'll head back to camp."

"Since when do you make all the decisions?" Kate asked angrily.

"I don't know," Locke said. "Since you appointed yourself righter of wrongs, I suppose."

Kate opened her mouth to reply but Jack cut her off. "All right, enough," he said. "Look, I think Locke's got a point. We should find Shannon. Then we can go back."

"We don't even know where to look," Kate said angrily.

"What about right there?' said a familiar voice. Jack whirled around. Charlie, Sayid, and Michael were walking up to them. They looked exhausted. Plus, Michael was drenched in blood.

Jack immediately went to him. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm cool," Michael said in a would-be-casual tone that failed to sound casual.

"It's not my blood."

"The other man?" Locke asked.

"Diced and sliced, my friend," Charlie said. "There's not enough left of him to. . .do whatever you would do with a dead body, I'd suppose."

Jack smiled. "So, where were you suggesting we look for Shannon?"

"Well, right there," Charlie said and pointed. "I mean, that is Shannon, isn't it? She's sort of hard to forget."

Jack turned to where Charlie was pointing. "Shannon!" Boone yelled, and ran over to where a girl lay, unconscious, by a tree nearby. The girl stirred and sat up. "Boone?"

Jack and the others walked over to where the siblings were sitting. "What the hell were you doing out here, Shannon?" Boone asked. "Are you hurt?"

"I sprained my ankle," Shannon said, and Jack tried not to think of it as whining, but that's how the girl sounded, like a little child crying about spilt milk. "I was just walking, you know, and I thought I could maybe find some berries or something, prove that I could take care of myself without anyone's help, and then I got lost and I tripped and I thought, well, hug a tree right?"

Boone closed his eyes. "You thought hug a tree. . .in the middle of a jungle where polar bears spring out of nowhere and creatures tear people apart?"

"Well, yeah," Shannon said. "I mean, what else was I supposed to do?'

"Oh, I don't know," her brother said sarcastically. "Try to get back to camp, maybe, where there AREN'T polar bears and homicidal creatures?"

"That's a really long walk," Shannon said, "and besides, I knew somebody would rescue me eventually."

Jack stared at her a minute and then began to walk away back to camp. Charlie and Boone were right. Shannon was unforgettable, all right. . .for all the wrong reasons.

IV.

The very first thing Kate noticed when they got back to the caves was Sawyer. His nose definitely looked broken and Kate felt a hint of satisfaction at that. Then she noticed everybody else. They all looked terrible, like something awful had happened.

"What did you do?" she asked angrily. Sawyer must have done something, must have hurt or endangered someone, for everyone to be looking this low. "What did you do?"

Sawyer glared at her. "I didn't do nothin', Freckles," he spat out. "Just like you would have expected. I didn't know how to." He stalked off.

Kate felt Jack step up beside her. His eyes sought out a familiar face and landed on Hurley. "Hurley, man, what's going on?"

Hurley looked up and then down at the ground. "It was that pregnant lady, Claire."

"Claire?" Charlie asked quickly. "What happened? Is she okay?"

Hurley looked briefly at Charlie and then back to the ground again. "She went into labor early. She was only seven months, I guess. Sawyer, he tried to help her deliver it. No one knew what to do. I. . . .I. . .anyway." He didn't go on.

"Where is she, Hurley?" Jack asked. When he didn't answer, "Hurley!"

Hurley pointed towards one of the caves and Kate was startled to see two tears running down his cheeks. Instantly she felt herself running, with Jack and Charlie close on her heels, towards the cave.

Inside the cave it felt damp and cool. Claire was sitting, huddled over, holding something In her arms. Kate knew what it was and felt a lump rise in her throat.

"Claire," she said, and her voice sounded strange.

Claire looked up. There were no tears on her face. Somehow, that was worse. Her eyes were wide and almost horror-struck, like too much had happened too fast, and now she was trying to retreat into her own, inner world. She held the baby in her arms protectively towards her chest.

"Claire," Kate said again, "Claire. I need you to give me the baby."

Immediately, Claire's head began to shake. She held the baby even closer to her chest, rocking it ever so slightly. It was so small.

"Claire, you've got to let go. Give me the baby. I'll. . . I'll take care of him."

Claire looked down at the infant in her arm. Someone had bundled him in a shirt. Tears began to fall down her face as she stared at him.

"Claire," Kate said. She held out her arms. "Give me the baby."

Slowly, hesitatingly, Claire did. Kate held the baby in her arms and stared at it's blue, dead face.

The sun began to rise outside and as Kate held the dead infant, Claire began to sob.


	5. After

I.

A couple hours after dawn, Sawyer heard footsteps behind him. "If you're going to blame me for what happened, Kate, you can just go back to your precious Doctor Jack," he said bitterly. "Nobody needs a recap of last night."

"I'll say," Jack said from behind him, and Sawyer jumped. Jack smiled and sat down in front of Sawyer. "Sorry to disappoint you. I know I'm not as pretty as Kate."

"What do you want? Do you want to tell me what I did wrong? What I could have done to save that baby?"

"Actually," Jack said, "I noticed that Kate appeared to break your nose last night. It needs to be broken back."

"I suppose you'll get a whole lot of chuckles out of that," Sawyer said.

"Yeah, some," Jack admitted. "You ready?"

"Yeah."

Jack broke Sawyer's nose back and Sawyer yelled out. "Goddamn! That motherfucker hurts!"

"Yeah," Jack said. "I get some pleasure out of that too." He stood up and started to head the other way.

"Say hi to all the other folks for me," Sawyer said, lighting up a cigarette. "Tell them we should get together for some good shindigs more often."

Jack stopped and sighed. "There was nothing else you could have done," he said. "There was probably nothing I could have done. The baby needed help that only a skilled gynecologist could have given him. You did what you had to do. You got Claire through it. She survived because you were there. She might not have if you weren't. There was nothing else you could have done." He paused, quiet, and then said, "Anyway. That's why I came down here."

Sawyer closed his eyes. He remembered the baby coming out already dead. He remembered trying to get the little boy to breathe again. He remembered wondering what that little boy's name would have been if he had survived.

He believed Jack and was thankful there was nothing he could have done. He wondered if he should thank Jack for telling him.

By the time he decided, Jack was gone.

II.

"That baby died, huh?"

Michael looked at his son. After washing off the blood and changing into some other clothes, Michael had begun to feel a bit better. Until his son brought up the subject everyone was studiously trying to not talk about. "Yeah," he said. "The baby died."

"Is the Australian lady going to be okay?"

Michael shrugged helplessly. What do you say to a question like that? What would his life been like if Walt hadn't been born? Michael hadn't been a big part of his son's life, he knew that, but he remembered the day his son was born as if it was yesterday. The birth had been relatively easy, an uncomplicated delivery. Walt had been born healthy and fine. But what if he hadn't been? How devastated would Michael have been?

He couldn't imagine.

"I hope so, Walt. I hope so."

Michael saw Sun nearby, fetching some fresh water. His eyes caught hers and held them for a minute. Then her eyes lowered and flickered back to her husband.

"Are you okay?" Walt asked.

Michael looked back at his boy again. What would he have done if Walt had been the one to die last night? If the creature somehow had gotten him instead of the Scott-Steve guy. How would he have survived?

"Everybody needs someone," Michael murmured.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, man. Just nevermind."

III.

She was sitting with her back facing the caves, her hands smoothing over the dirt that buried her newborn son. Charlie stepped up behind her, thought quickly about dashing away, and then sat down next to her.

He didn't know what to say that wouldn't sound stupid so he just went for it. "How you holding up, love?"

Claire laughed. "I don't know."

The two were silent.

For once, Charlie didn't break the silence.

"I knew it was going to be a boy," Claire said. "Well, I didn't know, but I was pretty sure. I had this feeling. I had a name picked out, if it was a girl, but I hadn't decided if it was a boy yet. I was either going to name him after my father, Jonathon, or maybe Luke after Luke Skywalker. I thought that a not-so-serious name might give him a sense of humor to deal with whatever happened in his life. If someone could say, 'I was named after Star Wars', they could probably laugh at anything. You know?"

"Yeah."

"I wanted him to be happy. I wanted him to. . .see all these things. To go all these places. Or even if we were stuck on this island for the rest of our lives, I wanted him to grow up. To live. To talk to people. I would have liked him to meet you, Charlie. I think you two would have gotten on with each other."

Charlie wiped his eyes. "I think we would have too."

"Yeah," Claire said. She stood up and Charlie looked up at her.

"Claire," he began but she cut him off.

"I'm not ready yet, Charlie," she said. "I'm not ready for this right now. I just need to be alone for a little while."

"All right," Charlie said.

"But Charlie?"

"Yeah?"

Claire closed her eyes. "Do you think it's a dumb thing to remember he would have been a Sagittarius?"

Charlie shook his head. "No, Claire. I don't think so."

Claire nodded. "I don't think so, either. Sagittarius people are outgoing, social, adventurous. They're always optimistic. He would have enjoyed his life, Charlie. He would have."

"I know it."

Claire bowed her head and left. Charlie sat where he was, next to the grave. He thought of Claire's horoscopes and Locke's faith. He thought of Jack and Kate and how they were there for each other. He thought of his heroin, burned away.

"Everybody needs someone," he said to himself. "Everybody needs something."

He looked up to the sky and said the first words to God he had said in a long, long time.

"Give us something. Just something."

-fin


End file.
